Don't Forget Dinner

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 30th April 2007

Characters: Birigundi, Nialyn
Description: Birigundi tries to tell Nia about Rigella... again...
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 10 of Turn 4

Birigundi

Birigundi had spent the whole night tossing and turning. The candidate who shared his bed finally got up and left since she wasn't going to get any sleep with him flopping like a fish on land. One thought dominated his thoughts - **I just have to tell her...** Shards, but it was going to hurt her. That was the last thing on Pern he wanted to do.

All through Candidate classes he sat fidgeting, knowing that when they were done, he just had to do it. He had to face Nia and tell her he had been sleeping with Rigella and that she was now pregnant. And that he had been hiding it from her for a few months for her own good. Yeah, she'd really love that part... He decided to practice what he was going to tell her on the way down to her weyr. Maybe if he sorted out in his head what he wanted to say then things would go easier.

"You see her father died, and I was just trying to be a friend and comfort her and then she asked me to sleep with her to make her feel better, and I was trying to by a good friend so I agreed to do it, but we only did it a few times, and of course I told you we were never exclusive, but really, I was just trying to help a friend, but then it turned out she was too upset to take her tea, so she ended up being pregnant and even though she tried to abort it, it didn't work so she finally decided she wanted to keep it because her father would have wanted it that way, so you see really that's a good thing since now she has something positive to be thinking about instead of about how her father died, because before she got pregnant she was a little suicidal, but now she has a reason to live so actually her getting pregnant was the best thing that could have happened, so it's a _good_ thing that Rigella is pregnant with my baby now, and I would have told you before but you were pregnant at the time and very hormonal and I didn't want to make you more upset when you had the baby to think about so I decided to wait until after you had the baby, but then I didn't want to tell you right away since you had just had Lyndi, but I wanted you to hear it from me first so I'm telling you now, and I hope you're not angry because it's not that I don't care for you or that I care for her more than you, it's just something that happened and we can all be adults about it and so now you know."

Yeah... Least he knew exactly what he was going to say now.

Taking a deep breath and desperately wishing his heart would stop flipping like that, he knocked on the door and peeked his head inside. "Nia? Are you here? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Grabbing her discarded blouse up off the bed, she pressed it against her chest and leaned quickly around the doorway to her sleeping room, pressing a finger to her lips. "She's sleeping, Biri. Ssssh..." Nialyn had been taking advantage of this unusually quiet afternoon to dig through her wardrobe, hoping to find some clothes other than her "pregnancy-wear" to fit into.

The whole afternoon had been more than just bitterly disappointing.

With a soft, dejected sigh, Nialyn let the blouse flutter back down to the bed. It wouldn't fit around her chest--_nothing_ she'd tried on would fit around her chest anymore. Nor her waist.

Everything Birigundi had thought to say suddenly fluttered down to her bed along with the shirt. Shards... It had been a long time since he had seen that much of Nia's skin and for a moment, his breath caught in his chest, he couldn't think of anything except for remembering how beautiful she was. And Faranth's name, her breasts had gotten _bigger_!

Unaware of his scrutiny, she stared mournfully down at the heaping pile of clothes on her bed. Would she ever be slender again? She touched her fingertips to her stomach, which was still large and flabby from her pregnancy. It was funny... Some days, she didn't mind the way she looked--the weight would drop, she knew. Eventually. But other days... Shards, on those other days, like today, it was a lot harder to look at herself in the mirror and think positively about her appearance. And she felt as though the weight couldn't drop from her fast enough!

"I'm a sharding herdbeast," she muttered irritably, hand clenching around one of her beautiful, green skirts. One that she'd never be able to wear again!

"Huh? What? No!" Shards, he might miss her flat tummy a little, but shards, those breasts sure more than made up for it! Faranth's name the things he wanted to do right then...

Startled, she looked over her shoulder at him, then frowned. "Yes I am. I'm fat. And even when I _do_ lose this sharding weight, I won't be able to fit into any of this again!" She hadn't meant to wail, but... "And _nothing_ fits anymore, Biri! Nothing! All my best clothes, my favorites... Nothing." Turning back to the pile, she began digging through it to find one of those large, shapeless tunics to pull over her head. It was cold in here. Shards, she was so sick of shapeless!

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "You're sharding _gorgeous_! If you want to walk around with nothing on, I'd be just fine with that."

Nialyn stopped rummaging, looking down at his hands that encircled her stretched skin. She had never been particularly vain, but shards! She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that she was beautiful, and not a sharding herdbeast. "You don't mean that..." The soft tremor in her voice betrayed her uncertainty.

"I do," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her neck softly. "Faranth's name, I really do." Shards, it had been a long time...

A small, hesitant smile curved her lips as she turned her head to brush the tip of her nose against his. "Thanks, Biri." His promise hadn't completely driven away her insecurities, but it did make her feel a little better.

"You know, if you're worried about having nothing to wear, I could just walk behind you all day and cover you with my hands," he grinned impishly, giving her a demonstration. Shells, they were heavier too! "Would that work?"

She shifted a little, feeling a hint of her own sensuality come creeping back to her. It'd been a while since she'd felt...well, sexy. "I think so," she grinned, leaning back to rest her head against his shoulder. And if he did do that, then maybe he wouldn't want to go to other women... Her expression sobered a little as she lightly pressed her hands against the tops of his, almost shyly encouraging him to keep touching her. Of course, the very thought was ridiculous, and she knew he'd meant it as a tease, but even still... That didn't stop her from wishing she could be all the woman he'd ever need. Closing her eyes, she let her fingers slide to his arms. **Stop it, Nialyn.**

With her eyes closed, her hands gripping his arms, leaning back against him so trustingly... Did she even know how perfect she was? Birigundi could feel a tightening in his chest as he looked down at her, wanting to burn that moment into his mind forever. Closing his own eyes he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "Shards, Nia," he breathed, "you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

Her smile was full again, and her blue eyes opened to meet his. His reassurance was doing wonders for her self-esteem. "You're awfully sweet, Biri."

**But I really mean it...** He leaned in to kiss her softly once more, hoping that she might want more than just a kiss, but remembering that the healers said it would take some time. Birigundi hadn't realized just how much he had missed these moments with her.

Nialyn let herself sink into his kiss, enjoying the sensation of his lips caressing hers. She felt the pulls of desire, but not enough to do anything more. And right now, just knowing that he wanted her made her insecurities fade even more.

When he gently released her mouth, she brushed her cheek against his arm. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked softly after a moment.

Oh shards.... That's right... "Well, there's something I need to tell you..." Oh but he couldn't tell her now. Not when she looked at him like that. "I... I was thinking about you today. I just wanted to tell you that... You've been on my mind."

Meaning that she wasn't always on his mind? But then, he was who he was. Did she really expect him to be thinking of her a lot? And Lyndi too?
**Stop it, Nialyn.** "...Oh."

"Nia?" he asked, frowning at her sudden change of mood. He gently turned her face up to his. "What is it?"

Forcing a sweet smile for him, she shook her head. "It's nothing." It was becoming easier to lie about it, she thought. And Nialyn vaguely wondered if she should be worried about that. Shards...she didn't want to dwell on all of this now. Pushing away those uncomfortable thoughts, she nuzzled him before shifting to turn back to the sad pile of clothes. "Do you want to help me look for that black tunic?" She wrinkled her nose. "The shapeless one?"

Putting clothes on her really wasn't what he'd really like to be doing, but... "I'll tell you what," he said, reaching for her hands and kissing her softly. "Why don't you throw on whatever tunic you find and I'll watch Lyndi while you go find something in the storerooms you'd actually _like_ to wear?"

Her blue eyes lit with pleasure. "Oh, Biri! Thank you." It would be wonderful to get out of her weyr for a while and stretch her legs. Knowing that she'd be finding something far better to wear than what she had now made the trip to the storeroom that much more exciting. "It shouldn't be too hard to find something. I'll be quick about it..."

"No," he said with a firm shake of his head. "You take your time and enjoy yourself." Birigundi smiled mischievously and leaned in closer. "And if you stop by the kitchens and happen to pick up something for dinner... well... I just might have to stay."

She grinned up into his face. "Then I'll get dinner. I know what you like," she purred, edging away before he could react to the flirty tone. "If she's not awake in the next half-candlemark, and I'm not back yet, wake her for me, please? If she sleeps through the afternoon, I'll never get her to fall asleep tonight."

"Nia, aren't you forgetting something?" he asked with an amused smile on his lips.

Grabbing a random blouse from the furs, she pulled it over her head. Running a hand through her tangled hair, she looked at him. "What?"

"Shards," he sighed as she covered her body once more. "You remembered. I wasn't about to let you leave this weyr without _something_ covering that chest of yours... I was hoping it would be me, but a tunic works." He wrapped his fingers around her waist and pulled her close for one last kiss. "Don't forget dinner."

Last updated on the April 30th 2007

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Don't Forget Dinner